


With arms wide open

by SoulLove



Category: Blake Shelton (Musician), Ellen Degeneres Show RPF, Gwen Stefani - Fandom, Shefani, The Voice (US) RPF
Genre: F/M, Family, Kids, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-10-31 21:50:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10908144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulLove/pseuds/SoulLove
Summary: "It wasn't easy, but how many dreams worth doing are?"Short story about a possible Shefani baby.->> This is setted on Ellen's show, where Gwen (already five months pregnant) tells her how she broke the news for Blake.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So.. I've been playing around with this idea of a Shefani baby, specially of how Gwen would tell Blake the big news... This is my first English fanfic (I'm brazilian born and raised), so please be gentle with the comments towards my writing ;)

“Please welcome our next guest, the lovely Gwen Stefani!”

That was my cue. Me and my giant belly made our way into the set. I was smiling cheek to cheek, waving to the audience and wearing a tight pink dress that highlighted my current state of a 20-week pregnancy. I stopped in front of Ellen, gave her a big hug and we sat down.

I was there to talk about my partnership with Revlon, about out new line of cosmetics, but of course the first subject was going to be the baby. This was the reason that I chose Ellen to talk about this. She was a close friend of ours and wasn’t going to go where I didn’t want to. But it was hard not to talk about it, because I was still on cloud 9 about everything.

“Welcome back, honey! You look lovely today! Pregnancy really suits you!” Ellen tapped lightly my hand, smiling and leaning forward.

“Well, on the fourth time, you learn to wing it”, I said, caressing my belly. Everyone laughed, including us. “But I have to say, since it is Blake’s giant child, I feel like a baloon already and I’m only halfway there!” Of course I didn’t mind getting big, not like the other times. Blake and my mom were shoving so much food down my throat, insisting that I was too skinny and needed room to accommodate this baby, already so much bigger than Apollo, that I finally gave in and started enjoying the extra attention. 

“Blake's giant child..." she repeated, cracking up. "How did you break the news for him?"

“Silly me, I thought I was here to talk about my make up line”, I replied, laughing and playing coy. We’ve discussed this before, me, Ellen and Blake (who was backstage, accompanying me), and I was going to share some details, but it was fun playing with her. “But yes, I did make a surprise for him, because it’s his first, you know? I wanted everything to be perfect”, I said, already feeling myself tear up. 

“So, did you planned it?” 

Every since I got those two pink stripes, I knew how I wanted to tell Blake. He was the most deserving and amazing guy, and we’ve been trying for so long... Every month since we started the hormone treatment I could see the tiniest bit of disappointment on his face when we got the negative results, quickly hidden as soon as he’d see me looking at him. 

First, I had to make sure everything was okay. If, for whatever reason, this pregnancy was a dead-end, something we’ve been warned that could happen, given my age, I wouldn’t tell him and deal with it everything by myself, sparing him from the heartbreak of losing a child. I did a bunch of tests on three different clinics, all after hours and very well hidden from the press. Last thing we needed was the media butting in even more than the already were. Everything was more than okay, but my doctor warned me to wait a couple more weeks, just to be safe, which was perfect, because I had something in mind. 

“Yeah, I knew I wanted to tell him when we were in our ranch in Oklahoma, because is more private, and we would get the chance to live in the ‘baby bubble’ before reality came in.”

“Ohh, that’s so sweet of you! And the ranch is one of Blake’s favorite places too, right?” 

Not only his, but mine and the kids’ too. Everything was so quiet down there, peaceful even… Without the paparazzi and the craziness of the big city. I could totally see myself and him living there permanently once we retire and the kids were all grown up. So yeah, of course it had to be there. Two weeks later was the Thanksgiving weekend, so the boys would be out of school and our whole family was going to be together. 

But someone was sensing all my happiness and HAD to ruin it. Gavin showed up the week before, saying that his parents would be here in LA for the holiday, asking if he could take the kids. What would I do?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! This is a longer one, I hope you enjoy :D

“Gavin, please don’t do this”. I asked, over the phone, massaging my left temple. I knew a headache was coming from this. “You guys don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, we already had plans. Despite everything, we’ve been managing to be civil to each other for the kids’ sakes, please don’t bring up a fight now.”

He always does this. He knows I hate confrontation so, if he pushes me, I will bend to avoid a fight. But not this time.. I was not his wife trying to hold our family together anymore, like I did for 13 years. I was done with his shit. I was planning an awesome and blissful holiday and he was absolutely not in my plans.

“My parents miss them, Gwen. This is not about us. What was I supposed to tell them?” How did I managed to endure his stupid accent all my life? This is annoying. I just snorted in response, hating every second of this conversation. Because I knew what he wanted. He wanted to bring the kids to England next summer, but was to chicken to ask. But, in order to have my perfect holiday, I would have to fold.

“Okay, don’t make me regret this, but... You can tell them the kids will come visit on their vacation. Two weeks instead of a hole month, but they can go, if they stay with me for Thanksgiving.” I said and immediately hated myself. This douche was making me ‘negotiate’ my kids, and I was feeling like the worst mother ever. I prayed in my head, while stroking my belly, that this little one inside of me would never ever had to split his(or her) time between me and Blake.

“Really? They can? Oh they will love it!” Gavin laughed, like the rat he was. “Thank you so much dear, I promise you won’t regret this”, he said, dragging his accent, like he knew it would get into my nerves.

Just as I hang up, Blake enter the room. His smile quickly turned into a concerned frown when he saw me circling my temples. He closed our distance with two large steps and pulled me into a hug.

“What’s wrong, baby doll? Something troubling this pretty little mind of yours?”

“No, nothing that I didn’t take care of already.” I shook my head, moving away just enough so I could look in his eyes, never breaking the embrace. “So, everything is clear for our trip to the ranch?”

“Yes, my God, you should see how excited my mom got when I told the boys were coming too”, he laughed, shaking his head. “I bet she already started cooking!”. I smiled, imagining how Dot would react to the baby news. She was such a grandma (like Blake was such a dad) that I should probably leave an ambulance ready for her impending heart attack. 

This memory put a smile on my face as I turned to answer Ellen’s question. “Yeah, and his family lives nearby to, so I wanted to tell everyone together. Dot, Blake’s mother, always begged him for a grandson and I just knew she would die if we didn’t tell her in person”.

“So, how did you do it? How was it?”

“Okay, so we got there Wednesday late afternoon, and went straight to the ranch. After dinner, everyone went to sleep, and I could tell Blake alone first, so he could ‘sink it in’ before we tell everyone else, you know what I mean?” I laughed, remembering his priceless reaction. 

“And how did Blake reacted?” Ellen questioned, with a huge smile in her face. She genuinely loved us and the feeling was mutual.

“Here’s the best part: I brought the video”. The crowd went wild. And they were right to do so, because this video was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I’ve watched a thousand times and still cried everyone of them.

“Really? Did you recorded it? Wow!! Let’s see them!”

The video started playing in the screen behind us.

\---------------

I remember setting the phone with the camera on right above the fireplace, hidden behind a statue of some sort. There was no way I wasn’t gonna have this memory recorded on video, because I could sense it was going to be epic. I finished putting everything together right before Blake got out of the shower.

“Ready to go to bed, darlin’?” He shouted at me from the bathroom, and I positioned myself on the perfect spot for the camera to see. 

“Yeah, but first I got something for you”, I answered, and he came from the bathroom with a naughty smile in his face.. I laughed loudly. He was such a teenager.

“Is it what I think it is?” Still smiling, he sat by my side on the bed, where I tapped.

I nodded my head no. “I have a present for you. I know, I know it’s not Christmas yet” I added before he could say that corny joke, rolling my eyes. “But this shows how much I am thankful to have you in my life. It’s something you’ve always wanted, and for a long time I thought I was not able to give it to you.”

I pulled the carefully wrapped box from behind me and put it in his lap. 

Blake looked at the box and then at me, still intrigued. He undid the bow and pulled the top. As soon as his eyes understood what it had inside, he started crying. His face turned red as he pulled the tiny bodysuit with the phrase “Got it from my dad” with a little drawing of a cowboy hat and boots. Underneath that, it was my pregnancy test. 

I didn’t remember a time that his smile was bigger. Not even when we kissed for the first time, not even when he won the People’s Choice Awards. He was laughing and crying at the same time, trying to draw the tears from his eyes so he could see me. I was smiling so big that I thought my face would fall. 

“I’m afraid… I’m afraid if I say something.... You will tell me it’s a joke and this is not real”, Blake said, looking at me and holding the bodysuit against his chest. “Please don’t tell me I’m dreaming”.

“No, you’re not. This-this is real, we really did it! We’re-we’re having a baby!” I managed to get out, half-choking, half-laughing, placing my hands on his.

He drooped on his knees to the floor, hugging me from my belly, kissing it endlessly. It got me by surprise, and I started crying too. “I’m gonna love you so much, little one.. No, I already love you more than life itself, I just found out about you… Imagine it when you finally come out! I’m gonna be the most proud and loving dad that ever was! Yes I am!”, he whispered to my belly, causing me to become a complete puddle of tears, forgetting for a moment that my phone was recording the hole scene. Looking at me, Blake added.. “ Just when I thought I couldn’t love you even more…. Just when I thought you’ve already was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me… You come around and give me the best gift I could ask for. How do you do this?”

“I don’t know… I guess I just…. I just pray God let me make you as happy as you make me”.

\-------------------------------------

“Oh my God, this is so beautiful!” Ellen said, squeezing my hand as I tried not to cry. Again. Everyone in the audience was clapping and cheering; their happiness for us was genuine. I spotted a bunch of people crying too. 

“He is so cute, right? Like, how did I get so lucky?” I shook my head, smiling like a little girl on Christmas. ”

But the cutest part I left out, that part was just for us. 

I slept facing the room, on my right side, with Blake spooning me.. But, in the middle of the night I woke up with the sound of the guitar. He knew I was a pretty heavy sleeper, so he probably thought I wasn’t gonna hear it, but somehow, I heard the guitar and his voice, low and tender. I opened my eyes and saw him sitting on the floor, facing my stomach, with his guitar in hands. And then I realized.

He was singing to the baby.

Tears started rolling down my cheeks, as I tried to be as quiet as possible not to ruin the moment. I stood still, just listening my beautiful man sing to our baby in my belly. It was a Rascal Flatts song, called My Wish.

“I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,  
And each road leads you where you wanna go,  
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,  
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.  
And if one door opens to another door closed,  
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,  
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile.  
But more than anything, more than anything  
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,   
You never need to carry more than you can hold,  
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,  
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,  
Yeah, this, is my wish.”

At this point, I couldn’t hide how much I was crying, because I was sobbing. Blake realized I was awake and stopped singing. “No, no…. Please continue.. It’s so beautiful!” I said. He smiled at me, and I could tell he’d been crying too.

“Ever since you told me, this song came into my mind… I couldn’t sleep today, because I’m so happy and excited to tell everyone that you’re pregnant… Sorry if I woke you, normally you sleep like a rock.” He put his guitar on it’s case and came to lay by my side, hugging me. 

“I’m not, I’m so thankful that I woke up to witness this....” I stroked his arm that was above my belly. “I still can’t believe that we did it. We’ve been trying for so long. Did you know I was this close to give up and consider a surrogate? I just couldn’t bear your heart getting broken over this again and again”. 

He snuggled closer. “So everyday I will thank God that you didn’t. Because I’ll get to see you carrying our little miracle”.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter of this story! It's been really fun writing it, as a way to exercise my English.. Thanks for reading it! I promise to come up with new stories really soon, so stay tuned! 
> 
> And let me know how did you liked this ending :D

“And how’s Blake preparing himself for fatherhood? This is all so new for him, I’m sure he’s bugging you with all kinds of questions, right?” Ellen asked.

“It’s the sweetest thing, ever since he found out he was going to be a dad, he became this walking encyclopedia about pregnancy and kids”, I answered, laughing. “He bought, literally, all the books ever written about it. I’m not kidding, on his nightstand there is a pile this big of books, and he has read them all”. Not to mention all the times our poor doctor was waken by a very worried Blake in the middle of the night whenever I felt the slightest shadow of pain or discomfort, and the baby wasn’t even born yet.

“No way! Really?” 

“You know how he is, whenever he finds a subject that he is interested, he searches and reads everything that is to know about it, and the theme of choice now is babies”, I continued. “It’s really cute but also annoying sometimes”, I said, joking.

“Annoying? Why?”

“Uhm, last week, for example. Because of my age, this is a high risk pregnancy. Although I’m feeling perfectly fine, every pain or odd symptom must be taken seriously, you know? So last week I was scheduled to give an interview for Carson on his morning radio program, but the night before I had a little bit of pain. Blake, as imagined, went on full blown panic attack mode, and it was nothing serious, thank God. But the doctor advised me to stay in bed, to rest a little bit just to make sure everything was okay. The only thing is, Blake understood as ‘chain her to the bed and don’t let her get up for nothing in this world’”, I told her, laughing so much I almost couldn’t finish the sentence. “I swear to God, if he could go to the bathroom for me, take a shower for me, he totally would”.

Ellen was losing it, almost crying with laugher, as was I. We took a good 30 seconds to recover.

“Long story short, I had to do the interview over the phone, with Blake hovering me like I was some sort of prisoner”, I said while drawing out laughing tears on the corner of my eye. “But, you know, I’m not complaining, it’s really sweet. I’ve been so blessed, never in my wildest dreams I thought this was going to happen to me. Like, for me, Apollo was a miracle enough… To be able to have another blessing like this is beyond everything I could ever wish for”, 

“And we’re so happy for you both, you two deserve all the happiness in the world.” She concluded, on a more serious, but loving, tone. “Now, let’s talk about this gorgeous make up line you’ve created along with Revlon…”

The rest of the talk was about the partnership, and on the end everyone on the audience went home with a kit that we gave away. It was pretty good after all. When we wrapped it up, Blake was waiting for me with a big smile on his face. 

“You did great, darlin’! How are you feeling?” He greeted me with a quick smooch, unconsciously caressing my prominent stomach. He did this a lot the past few months, as if to make sure it was real. “Ready to go home?”

I nodded yes. “I just have to pick up my things in the dressing room”. 

The drive home was quiet, peaceful. We got home, an empty one, as the boys were at Gavin’s for the week. Blake went to the kitchen to prepare our dinner, and I went to our room to change my clothes. 

Going down the hall, I passed my the nursery, and couldn’t help it going inside, suddenly remembering the day we found out the gender of our little miracle…

I was so nervous that day, afraid to find out I was having another boy and getting too disappointed by that. I told myself over and over again that it was going to be different anyway, because this one was Blake’s, someone to carry the Shelton name, and that was awesome too.... But deep down in my heart I wanted a girl so desperately. I reminded myself that I was absolutely in no position to ask for more, since this pregnancy alone was already a huge gift, but nonetheless I caught myself holding Blake’s hand so tight on our way to the clinic. 

“Nervous, pretty girl?” He looked at our hands together, with a puzzled look on his face. “Why? Are you afraid there’s something wrong?”

“No, that’s not it”, I brought our hands to my lips and placed a soft peck on his. “I’m just afraid of myself, of my reaction, if we find out that we’re going to have another boy”. There’s no point of lying to him. Blake knew me so well he probably already had figured that out without me telling him, but I wanted to be honest anyway. “I know I’m being incredibly selfish, and I keep reminding me that this is your baby, our baby, and it doesn’t matter what gender it is, but still…” I let the sentence die, already too embarrassed to continue. 

Blake stayed in silence until we stopped on a red sign, and then he looked at me. “Hey… I think it’s completely normal what you’re feeling, because it’s not your first pregnancy. I bet you felt the same way with Zuma and Apollo. I guess there’s nothing for me to say, except that everything happens for a reason. I’m nervous enough that it’s my baby, my kid… I don’t even wanna go to the possibility of being a girl… Someone with your looks and style, leaving a track of boys with broken hearts for me to chase away…” I laughed at his argument, amazed by the way he could so quickly brighten my day. Him, on the other hand, had that concerned look on his face, and despite the fact he tried to cover it up with a smile looking at me, I could tell he got worried by that train of thought. If indeed it was a girl, she was going to have to deal with the most jealous dad ever.  
“Don’t blame this on me! For all I know, she could have your blue eyes and cute dimples, and that’s completely your fault, so…”

“We are lost either way, don’t you think? We better prepare for meeting a ton of boyfriends or girlfriends, because there’s no way this kid turns out ugly, not with you on the equation…” I giggled like a little girl, blushing over his compliment. By the time we got to the clinic, I didn’t care about the gender, I just wanted for the due date to arrive sooner.

But, apparently, someone up there really loved me, because I was having a little cowgirl.

\-------------------------

We decided to name her Olivia Richie Shelton, in honor of Blake’s late brother. The boys were simply ecstatic when we told them they were going to have a little sister. They were pretty close to Stella, my niece, and probably thought Olivia was going to be a smaller version of her. 

My mom revealed to me that she dreamed about a little girl even before we told her, and started sewing a baby pink blanket “just in case”. It was beautiful, full of delicate flowers, and right now was carefully placed inside the crib, just waiting for its owner to be born. 

I stroked my belly, feeling her tiny kicks. She usually was more active at night, kicking so hard sometimes it would wake me up in the middle of the night, I could tell she was going to be a very rowdy baby. I’d like to spend hours in the bathtub, feeling her moving inside my womb and praying to God to protect and bless her. 

I didn’t realize how long I’ve been inside her nursery, until I turned around and saw Blake leaned against the doorframe, with his hands in his pockets, staring at me. He came looking for me because dinner was ready, and found me standing by her crib, admiring everything with teary eyes. He came close and hugged me from behind, immediately placing his hands on my stomach. Olivia gave him a particular strong kick, as if to make him sure she was aware of his presence. I didn’t have to look at his face to know he was smiling from ear to ear.

“As soon as she can walk, I’m signing her to soccer classes because this kid’s got future!” Blake said jokingly. We stayed like this for a couple moments, just enjoying each other’s companies. After a while, he turned me around. “Gwen… Have you ever thought about why I haven’t proposed to you yet?” He asked, looking into my eyes, searching for some possible anger or hurt.

Yes, of course I thought about it, specially after the baby news, but we’ve been so focused on this pregnancy that I just figured out he was waiting for her to be born. I already knew we were set on forever, but a wedding wouldn’t hurt. “Well, I just thought you were going to ask me when you were ready.”, I answered, simply.

“The thing is, I’ve been ready for a while now, even before we found out Olivia was on her way… Hell, before we even started trying, but somehow the timing never seemed to be right… Always something about to happen, you know? First we’re trying, now we’re waiting for the due date…” He shook his head, then broke our contact. I looked at him, confused. “And I don’t wanna wait anymore.”

He reached on his back pocket, pulling his wallet. Inside, he dug a diamond ring. I covered my mouth with my hands, completely in shock, not able to form a word. 

“I’ve been carrying it around since Thanksgiving, waiting for the perfect moment. It was my mother’s, she gave it to me the day after we told her about the baby. She said no grandchild of hers was going to be born out of wedlock”, he let out a small chuckle. “I’m sorry I didn’t put it on a box, I thought you were gonna find it and ruin the surprise.. It’s just… Seeing you here, pregnant with my first child, inside the nursery.... It made me realize I was just wasting time. Suddenly I didn’t care about how I’d ask you, when I’d ask you, I just wanted to call you my wife already.. Every other detail seemed to be useless, so…. Do you marry me?”

I found myself staring at him, struggling to form the right words. Nothing in the world would make me happier than being his wife. Everything I’ve been through in my life has lead me to this moment, standing in the middle of my unborn daughter’s nursery, with the man I love offering me a ring and a life by his side. Suddenly I wished I could go back in time, so I could find that rock-bottom-Gwen, that my-life-is-over-after-the-divorce-Gwen, and tell her everything is going to be alright. 

I even wanted to go to Gavin, that bastard rat, and thank him for breaking my heart and my family, because that was the only way I could be free for Blake right now. I wanted to give Miranda the biggest hug too, and thank her for being a selfish bitch, who treated so poorly this amazing man standing right in front of me. If she wasn’t so fool and self-centered, she would have given him a child before I could have the chance, and maybe the two of them would be together still. 

In that moment, I wanted to thank every stupid person that has ever did something that we didn’t deserve, because they made who we are today. They are the reason I can say this words: 

“Cowboy, you really have a way of making a girl say YES!”


End file.
